Reconstructing+Famous+People

=Reconstructing Famous People= by Monica Gonzalez

Purpose
This game is meant to be used to review declarative knowledge that has been seen in class. It can help students to remember attributes of famous people such as: nationality, their contribution, historic period, physical appearance and profession. The game can be applied to any content in which it is important to relate authors and their contributions in the areas of History, Literature, Sciences, etc.

Time Required
Between 20 and 34 minutes, 7 minutes for each team performance.

Number of Participants
6 players minumun 9 players optimum 12 players maximum

Supplies Needed
White board or sheet of paper Markers Cards, each with a name of a famous person and a short biography

Preparation
The facilitator needs to have at hand detailed biographies of the famous people as reference for the players. They can only be consulted after the performance has finished.

Introduction
Without prior notice or explanation, the facilitator performs an Act, a rhyme and a drawing, and then asks the group which famous person he is referring to. Once the famous person has been guessed, the facilitator asks the group to organize themselves in a line according to the alphabetic order of the first letter of their names, in order to group into teams of three members (triads).

Process
3 || The actor:- One member of the first triad decides to perform one of the attributes of the famous person on the card || 1 minute ||
 * Step 1 || Participants form a line according to the alphabetical order of the first letter of their names ( From A to Z), and then divide the line into triads (maximum 4 triads, 12 players) || 2 minutes ||
 * Step 2 || Starting from the triad that has the first letters of the alphabet, one member of the triad gets a card from the facilitator, turns it over and reads it with their team mates. They have 2 minutes to discuss and get organized || 3 minutes ||
 * Step
 * Step 4 || The triads that are not performing (yet) are only allowed to ask questions by raising their hand; the actor can only answer "yes" or "no". The instructor will be the moderator. || 1 minute ||
 * Step 5 || The minstler: - The second member of the first triad presents a rhyme that relates to one of the attributes of the famous person on the card || 1 minute ||
 * Step 6 || The triads that are not performing are only allowed to ask questions by raising their hand; the minstler can only answer "yes" or "no". The instructor will be the moderator. || 1 minute ||
 * Step 7 || The Drawer.- The third member of the first triad sketches a drawing that relates to one of the attributes of the famous person on the card || 1 minute ||
 * Step 8 || The triads that are not performing are only allowed to ask questions by raising their hand; the drawer can only answer "yes" or "no". The instructor will be the moderator. || 1 minute ||
 * Step 9 || The triads that are not performing have one minute to decide who the famous person is, based on the attributes revealed during the performance. The first triad to raise their hand to decipher the identity of the famous person wins the card. || 1 minute ||
 * Step 10 || The same proceedure is repeated by each triad until all have performed. || 7 minutes per triad ||
 * Step 11 || The triads compare the number of cards they have won in order to reveal the winner i.e. the triad with most cards. || 1 minute ||

Debrief
"Did you learn anything about the famous people that you did not already know?" The facilitator goes through each famous person in turn.

Credits
The game is similiar in spirit to "Charards", in which the players of one team act out the words which make up the title of a film, while the other team has to guess the film which is being referred to. There is also a game called "Pinta Monos", in which the performer has to sketch a drawing, which enables the other participants to guess the name of the film or novel referred to in the drawing. I have also heard of a game called "Cranium", in which the performers have to carry out a number of activities similiar to the ones set out in "Reconstructing Famous People".